A piece of memorabilia from the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) has found a new owner at a high price: auction house SCP Auctions sold the Lakers No. 24 jersey, as well as the corresponding shorts and sneakers, for a total of $485,197 (around €4.5 million), according to People magazine.

On April 11, 2016, 20 people reportedly attended the auction to bid on the basketball apparel worn by the athlete in the last road game of his career. The starting bid was $50,000 dollars. The jersey and shorts sold for $366,967 and the Nike Kobe 11 Elite Low Top Sneakers sold for $118,230.

Unique jersey auction

According to the auction house, the jerseys in the sale had a unique feature that made them more attractive to collectors: a microphone pocket on the front of the waistband of the pants to allow Kobe to wear a microphone during games." Most jerseys adjusted for wearing a microphone have a pocket on the inside seam near the armpit. That might have been too uncomfortable for Bryant, so he decided to put the microphone on his shorts. We know these are one of Kobe's favorite travel shorts. He wore these shorts in nine games during the last two months of his career.

Kobe Bryant is considered one of the most successful and talented basketball players of all time. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 through 2016.In January 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his daughter Gianna.